As The Wall Street Journal’s Benoît Faucon and Cassie Werber report, WTI futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange have risen by around $9 a barrel since the crisis in Egypt began at the start of last week.

Both OPEC and the IEA say there is no shortage of oil in the world and that demand is picking up. All these are bearish signals. Prices should be lower, surely?

Well, maybe yes and maybe no.

The futures market is no place to be for bears right now, Steve LeVine writes for Quartz. It’s the running of the bulls—keep up or you could be hurt.

Conflicted traders are exhibiting “primordial casino behavior,” he says, taking prices ever higher despite all the evidence suggesting they should be subdued.

The vast majority of speculative money in the oil market right now is betting on further price rises. If a correction comes from this level—as it did in 2011 and 2012 after bull runs—it could be just as hard and just as fast.

Of course, the bold claims made about the prospects for U.K. shale gas also have their doubters. Among them is the opposition Labour Party—its policy is laid out here by shadow chancellor of the exchequer Ed Balls.

He advocates sustainable energy. But British greens shouldn’t get too excited—five years ago to the day George Osborne, who now controls the U.K. purse strings, made similar promises.

In oil markets Thursday the rising price of West Texas Intermediate was again in the spotlight, with the U.S. benchmark grade creeping ever closer to Brent amid U.S. economic optimism and lower inventory levels as an oil glut eases. You can read the Journal’s market report here.